Welcome to the online home of Tim Challies, blogger, author, and book reviewer.
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I recently announced that my new book, A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible, is just about ready to launch and that we are now taking pre-orders. It is due to be released at the end of March. In the meantime, I wanted to give you a brief taste of what you’ll read and what you’ll see when it’s in your hands. Keep reading for a section that tells (and shows) how the Bible has been preserved for us. Buy …
You’ve probably seen something recently about the ESV Scripture Journals. According to the publisher, they “pair the entirety of individual books of the New Testament with lightly lined blank pages opposite each page of the biblical text, allowing readers to take extended notes or record insights and prayers directly beside corresponding passages of Scripture. Individual volumes feature one book of Scripture in a thin and portable format—great for personal Bible reading and reflection, small-group study, or taking notes through a …
Earlier in the week, eager to be encouraged, I put this question out to Twitter: What has the Lord been teaching you from his Word recently? The responses were quick, plentiful, and encouraging. Here are a few of them. (Click here to read them all.) I’ve been meditating on the Good Samaritan, and I’m learning that loving our enemies isn’t merely the same as not “repaying evil for evil”, it means returning love for evil. It’s been quite convicting. — …
The new year is coming, and I, for one, am beginning to think about how I’m going to do my daily devotions in 2019. I know that for me to be consistent, I need to put some plans in place. For the past several years I’ve made great use of the Five-Day Reading Plan and have had the joy of reading through the Bible each year. But as I’ve been getting a better grasp of the Bible’s big picture, I …
Today I’m glad to share an article by Paul Carter, a friend who has contributed to my site a couple of times in the past. He is passionate about reading and teaching God’s Word and I’m glad to have him lay down the challenge to read the Bible fast and slow in 2019. ***** One of the most transformative things I ever did was read through the entire Book of Genesis – slowly – with the help of several commentaries …
It’s the age of the expert, the age of the specialist. And sure enough, there’s a growing theme in the Christian world that experience is a necessary prerequisite to authority. If you want to know about parenting, you need to talk to a parent. If you want to know about marriage, you need to talk to someone who has been married. If you want to know how to suffer well, you speak to someone who has suffered. This theme is …
We Christians spend a lot of time reading the Bible, hearing it preached, and meditating on its words. Why this commitment? We are committed to the Bible because of what it is and what it does. The Bible guides us to its purpose and power through the many metaphors it uses to describe itself. Here is a pretty good collection of them. Perhaps you’d do well to meditate on a few of them. The Bible is a lamp that illumines. …
I admit it: I use an electronic Bible. Better said, I use an electronic device that has a Bible app installed on it. Several years ago I put away my printed Bible in favor of Logos on my iPad. There is a lot I love about this: I love the convenience of being able to have my Bible with me at just about any time; I love the ease of needing just a single tap to take me from my …
They say you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, that you can’t appreciate what you have until it’s taken away. Isn’t this why we sometimes imagine ourselves without the people we love? As we imagine their absence we grow in our affection. Perhaps we would grow in our affection for the Bible if we imagined it being taken away. When I was in Hawaii I was able to sit through a couple of classes on the history and …
This week the blog is sponsored by Crossway, who would like to introduce you to the ESV Scripture Journal. Reading and studying Scripture are pursuits that require the attention of both heart and mind. To love the Lord with all our strength, we must actively engage with Scripture—asking questions, learning contexts, making connections, and reflecting on personal applications of the text. Here are a few ideas on how to enrich your time in God’s Word: 1.Rewrite individual verses and passages …